Milk

For a few years director Gus Van Sant has been making some off-the-beaten-path movies with his most notable being Elephant about a school shooting, and it is here in Milk that Van Sant returns to more conventional filmmaking but that does not diminish it's quality one bit. I mention Elephant because it, like Milk, is a movie about seperation and violence caused by it. Milk however is bigger, broader, and more important. In simple terms it is the story of Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn, who runs for district supervisor in San Francisco in the 70s helping give the gay rights movement a gigantic shove and ultimately he was assassinated for his ideals, his passion, his ability to change, and his sexual preference. Those are not spoilers anymore than it is to spoil Titanic by telling you it sinks. It is fact. However what you need to see the movie for is the way in which it tells the story of not just the gay rights movement but the story of equality and fighting for what is right. It is the story of how one man set out to do something with his life and saved and changed thousands with it and many will hate this movie because it is about a gay man who is the reason that gays are still allowed to work, live, and be with everyone else and to those people I say, with all my Christian love, that your heart is wrong. The ending of this film and Harvey's life is such a grand depiction that you, those of you who find the idea of this film appaling, are hating people, that you would have rather seen their lives destroyed. It is a shame that it takes a gay man to stand up for his peoples rights when we as Christians are called to love all people as the same, that means giving them the same rights and fighting for them. Off my soapbox I must also commend Sean Penn for giving what I think is the best performance of the year, yes even over Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler. Never has Penn been more likeable than he is as Harvey Milk. The acting in this movie is great all around really, the ensemble is top-notch and flawless. More than anything it is an enjoyable movie which so few oscar contenders are with all of their weighty ideas and heavy handed production, Milk is accessible and expertly paced and simply a wonderfully told story. Slumdog Millionaire has my vote for Best Picture, but Milk would be a worthy alternative I think.